The Great Hall is surprisingly empty when I enter the next morning with Lee, and I easily spot Allie waving at me from the Gryffindor table. My brother follows me over to the table but instead sits with his friends, and I take a seat beside Allie. I notice that Julian is here too- he has his arms folded on the table with his head resting on top, and he's fast asleep. Grinning, I take out my wand from my robes.

I murmur a few words, and with a flick of my wand, Julian's sandy locks turn an alarming shade of pink. Allie gasps and claps her hands a little in excitement. Giggling, she pokes Julian's cheek until he wakes up properly. When he opens his eyes and sees my mischievous grin, he furrows his brows. "What is it?" he says suspiciously.

"Nothing at all," I say nonchalantly, grabbing a basket from the table and offering it to him. "Muffin?"

He shakes his head. "I have Quidditch practice now. Eating something before makes me feel sick." Standing up, he rubs his face and yawns. "see you guys later."

"Bye, Jules!" I call out cheerfully.

Allie waves enthusiastically. "Have a peachy day!"

"Don't get pink eye during Quidditch practice!" I add.

Julian turns around, clearly confused, but he keeps walking. Allie and I collapse into fits of laughter at our horrible attempts at puns. When we spot Julian looking disgruntled all the students sniggering at him, we howl. 

I wolf down a few muffins as Allie and I talk. I learn that Quidditch tryouts for Gryffindor are later on today, so I decide to do it. Allie promises me she'll come, and reminds me that Julian won't be allowed to come- apparently the Gryffindor captain is really strict about letting members of other house Quidditch teams watch them.

Finally, Allie and I are ready to go to our first class- Defence Against the Dark Arts. "So, who's our professor?" I ask.

"You didn't here at dinner last night? We have a new professor. I don't know his name, but apparently he's pretty good. Professor L-something, I don't know."

I nod. "Who did you have before that?"

Allie laughs, and I'm a little confused. "I'm surprised you didn't see it in the Daily Prophet. It was Gilderoy Lockhart. Do you know him?"

"Oh, yeah! He's that author, right?"

"That's the one. Only, he doesn't remember that."

"Come again?"

"Okay, so last year, people started getting Petrified."

I remember the owls I received from Lee about it. They were really short and brief, and he had me worried sick for weeks. "Lee told me about that, yeah."

"Well, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley found the Chamber of Secrets- a room Salazar Slytherin built that holds a huge monster, because he wanted to get rid of non pure-bloods at the school- anyway, they killed the thing in the room, stopped Voldemorts return again, blah blah blah, but then Lockhart tried to wipe their memories with Ron's wand, which was broken. It backfired, and now he doesn't remember who he is or anything."

"Jesus Christ. That's hardcore."

"It really is. And before that, we used to have this guy named Professor Quirrell, except Harry Potter found out that Quirell had Voldemort living on the back of his head. So Quirell's dead."

At least I know about that. I heard about it and forced Lee to tell me absolutely everything. "I get the feeling that since Harry arrived, things have gotten a lot more interesting," I tell Allie.

"It's a blessing and a curse. Things aren't boring anymore; except each year we seem to be facing something that could kill us. Keeps us on our toes, though."

Laughing, I shift the position of the books I'm holding so I can twist the heavy metal handle on the door to the classroom. It's virtually empty when we get in, except for a large wooden closet which is shaking- like there's something in it.

Allie and I sit on the tables and talk as other students come in, including Lee. "How's your day been so far?" Lee asks, grinning at us as he puts his books on the table beside ours.

"Good," I say, and Allie nods in agreement. "I dyed Julian's hair pink, and he still doesn't know."

Lee bursts out laughing, and then tells us about a prank he came up with last night. "-I'm going to tell the twins about it today, and hopefully they'll agree to you two helping out as well," he finishes. I have to admit, it does sound like a great prank.

"Hold on," I say, suddenly realizing something. "I've never heard them being referred to as anything other than 'the Weasley twins' or 'the twins'. What even are their names?"

"Fred and George," Lee says. "It's hard to tell, and it took me ages, but they do look different. You'll learn to notice the differences when you spend more time with them, but they are pretty much the same person."

Our conversation is cut short when the door to the office up the stairs opens, and a man walks out. Allie and I slide off of our desks and my hair falls in front of my face as I lean down to grab our Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook.

There's a loud intake of breath from the front of the classroom, and then the voice that I know so well rings out in the stone classroom.

"Venus?" the voice says.

All eyes turn to me as my head snaps up, and I gasp, my heart leaping into my chest.

Remus Lupin stands there, the same as he always looked. Maybe a little more tired, but otherwise the same. The same scar runs across his cheek, a pale silver in the light. His brown hair still sticks up a little at the back. The same bright eyes.

"Remus," I murmur, already out of my chair and running towards him. For a moment, the classroom slips away from us as we hug. It's just us. After my father died, I really had no father figure in my life- until Remus. He arrived at Ilvermorny the same year the dementors started guarding Azkaban, and he instantly took me under his wing. Over the few years after that, we became really close. I eventually found out about his lycanthropy, but it did nothing to change the relationship we had.

After a few moments, Remus comes to his senses and gently pulls away. I'm suddenly very aware of the pairs of eyes on us, and the quiet whispers that ripple through the class that I know Remus can hear because of his werewolf hearing.

"I'm sorry about that, class," Remus says awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. He's already returned into professor mode, and he avoids looking at me as I take my seat again. Allie looks at me weirdly, and I flush.

I'll explain later, I mouth to her, and she nods.

"I used to teach at Ilvermorny, which is how I know Ms. Jordan, but before that I was a student at Hogwarts. My name is Remus Lupin, and I am your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

He goes on and explains how horrible he is at remembering names (He called me Violet for months) and then he asks us to go around the room and say our names and our favourite magical creature.

"I'm Penelope, I like Unicorns."

"David. Do Merfolk count?"

"Sansa, and I like Phoenixes."

When it gets to Allie, she says she likes dragons. Remus nods, smiling a little. He likes dragons too, I know that.

"I'm Venus. I like thunderbirds," I say, naming my old Ilvermorny house.

When we've finished going around the class, Remus nods and smiles a little. "Now, I'm sure you're all itching to know what's in the closet," he says, pointing to the large object to his right which is now shaking more and more. "Can anyone take a guess?" A few people suggest different things, but Remus shakes his head at each one. "I'm afraid you're all incorrect. In this closet is a boggart. Now, can anyone tell me what a boggart looks like?"

"No one knows," someone says from the back of the room. "They take the form of the thing the person fears most."

Remus goes on to explain that the thing that repels boggarts is laughter, and then he teaches us the incantation to go along with this. It doesn't take long until we're all standing in line, and Sansa is at the front. Remus opens the closet, and immediately, a gigantic moth flies out and hovers above Sansa, who shakes in horror.

"Remember- Riddikulus!" Allie calls out to Sansa.

Sansa's bottom lip wobbles as she mumbles out the incantation, but nothing happens. Taking a deep breath, she says it louder, and then the moth's wings transform into dainty, pink fairy wings- the kind you'd see in a children's book. Its legs turn into very hairy man legs, and suddenly I'm staring at a fat middle-aged man in a wife-beater and boxers with dainty wings.

The class howls with laughter and Sansa, pleased, walks to the back of the line.

The Boggart morphs into a variety of different things over the next few minutes; spiders and clowns are frequent, and there's also the occasional crowd of people laughing or intimidating teacher.

And then it's Allie's turn.

As soon as she steps up, the Boggart begins to change, morphing into a cloud of grey as it figures what Allie is most afraid of. Her face is blank, calm even, but I can see how white her knuckles are as they clench her wand.

It takes a while, but when the Boggart finally takes shape, I'm surprised to see two people standing in front of Allie. She gasps a little- not in surprise, but something else. One of the people is a man- tall and menacing, with a slightly hook nose and the same blue-grey eyes as Allie- but on him they're piercing and cruel, instead of bright and kind. He looks like Allie, except his features are older and twisted. His long dark coat moves as he brings his hand up to run a hand through his greying hair. Allie's eyes are wide, and her face is unbelievably pale.

"Father," she half-murmurs, half-whispers, taking a small step forward.

                I'm not surprised that he's her father. The moment I saw him; I knew he was related to Allie.

                The other person steps forward into the dim light of the classroom, and I inhale sharply when I realize he's just a child. It doesn't take an expert to know that this kid is clearly Allie's younger brother. No older than seven or eight, he has the same red hair, and his freckles are even brighter than Allie's are. He cowers when his father turns to him, whimpering slightly.

                "Jupiter!" Allie exclaims, taking a step forward to the small child as their father slowly unbuckles his belt and takes it off, running the worn leather through his fingers.

                Frantically, I look over at Remus, but he is unmoving. His mouth hangs open, and he's ready to step in, but it'll be too late. This is going to end badly, and I can't watch it.

                "HELP ME!" Jupiter screams, looking at Allie pleadingly. Time slows down. Allie's father raises the belt buckle. Jupiter shrinks further to the floor. Allie falls helplessly to her knees, her wand abandoned on the floor beside her. A guttural sob emanates from her mouth as she feebly reaches out with one hand towards her brother. It hurts to watch the scene unfold in front of me, it hurts to see this girl that is so strong, and so pure, be so helpless. It hurts to know that Remus will be too late. But I won't.

                I leap in front of the Boggart just as the belt buckle comes into contact with Jupiter- before he even has a chance to contort his face into a look of pain, or let out a scream, the two people fade and turn into a grey cloud.

                Allie lets out another sob that also sounds like a sigh of relief and collapses onto the stone floor. Remus darts over with lightning speed and picks her up, easily carrying her as if she weighs nothing up the stairs to his office. When he reaches the top, he looks at me, asking a question with his eyes. Can you deal with whatever comes out of that cloud and put it back where it came from? Taking a deep breath, I nod. "Class dismissed," Remus says. I forgot they were even still here, but when I turn around, they're all whispering, wide-eyed and frantic as they grab their books and get out of the room faster than you could say 'boggart'. I turn back to the grey cloud, drawing my wand out from the depths of my robes. After spending so much time with Remus, I became quite skilled in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

                It takes even longer for the Boggart to morph into my fear than it did for Allie, but I'm prepared for what comes.

Before the remaining classmates even get a chance to see what the boggart is morphing into, I mutter the incantation and push it back into the closet, sighing with relief as I lean against it.

I immediately dash up the stairs and burst into Remus' office without bothering to knock. He looks up when I come in, and wordlessly removes his arm from around Allie's shoulders and leaves the room. Stopping when he's right beside me, he wraps me in a quick hug. I breathe in his scent- woods and parchment, and something like cinnamon- and smile a little. "I missed you, Venus," he murmurs into my hair.

"I missed you too, Remus. I'll come find you at some point later this week and we can catch up, okay?"

He nods, and leaves after quietly telling me that his next class starts in twenty minutes.

I come and sit on the desk, which is already crowded with books, beside Allie. Immediately, she curls into my arms. "Jupiter is my brother," she says quietly. "My... my father used to beat him all the time. When Ju was really young, I took the beatings for him, but when he turned five my father started doing it to him instead. He realized it hurt me more- watching Ju get hurt. He would tie me to the bannisters and make me watch as he beat Ju. I felt so powerless, all the time, I-" her voice cracks as she struggles to contain her emotions. "I never want to feel that powerless again."

My heart jumps in my chest, a concoction of anger and pain for my friend burning in my chest. Looking at her, so broken, it just makes me so upset. I clench and unclench my fists several times before I speak again. "Where's Jupiter now?" I say gently.

"He's out of there, thank god. When Professor Dumbledore found out in my second year, he got Ju out of that house so quickly. He lives with my aunt for now, but he's coming to Hogwarts in a few years' time. I have special permission from Dumbledore to visit him most weekends, or whenever I can."

"I'm glad Jupiter's okay," I say sincerely.

"You'd like him, I think. Everyone does. He has... the thing, you know? That spark. Kinda like Julian has, except purer. Julian has a fuckable-girl magnet; Jupiter has a nice-person magnet."

I laugh a little at this, happy to see Allie coming back. Almost like she's collecting the pieces of herself and gluing them back together. Wiping her eyes, she stands up. "Ready?" I ask.

"Ready," she says, and I take her hand and pull her out of the office.

**

Stares follow Allie and I around for the rest of the day.

Word of what happened in DADA spreads quickly around the fifth years, and by lunchtime, whispers ripple through the groups of students everywhere we go. We even catch Nearly Headless Nick and the Bloody Baron talking about it in the courtyard. I find it amusing, though, because whenever Allie catches someone talking about her, she just flips her hair and struts past.

"It's so depressing. I feel so sorry for her," a girl murmurs as we walk past her and her friend in the corridor.

Allie just shoots her a shit-eating grin and swings her hips as she blows past her.

"She's hot as fuck though," the girl's friend comments, his eyes directly on Allie's ass as she walks away. I glare at him, and he sheepishly diverts his gaze.

"That guy was totally checking out your ass," I tell Allie as I fall into step with her.

She twists around, glancing at her butt before turning back to me, her red hair swinging as she does so. "And so he should," she says. "My ass looks killer."

It doesn't take long after we sit down at the Gryffindor table for Julian to come storming in. He strides down the Great Hall, his hair as strikingly pink as it was this morning, and when Allie and I see it we both burst into laughter. We laugh harder when we see Julian's murderous facial expression.

"Change it back. Now." Julian fumes as he comes to a halt in front of us.

"Change what back?" I say breezily, taking a bite of my sandwich as I look up at him.

"MY HAIR!" Julian spits loudly, gesturing manically to his locks. His volume causes most students in our general vicinity to look up, and they snicker a little.

Sighing, I pull out my wand. "Fine," I mutter, waving my wand quickly. Almost instantly, Julian's hair returns to its sandy brown hair colour.

After glancing at his reflection in a spoon, Julian sighs in relief. He sits down beside me, and shoots me another glare. "Still mad at you, Jordan."

"Allie's guilty too! Aiding and abetting," I protest, pointing an accusing finger in the witches direction.

"I just found it funny, I didn't actually perform the spell," she retorts.

I can't think of a good comeback to this, so I just stick out my tongue at her, reaching for a plate of cocktail sausages and a bottle of ketchup.

"Real mature, Jordan," Julian says.

"Bite me, Bainbridge."

"Just tell me where, sunshine," he replies instantly.

My cheeks flame red as I think of what he's implying. I want to throw up.

"Anyway," Julian says, turning to Allie with a concerning look on his face. "I heard what happened in DADA. Something about a boggart?"

"Jupiter," Allie says.

Julian instantly nods, clearly not needing a further explanation. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I am now."

Julian seems satisfied with her answer, and then he turns to me, his eyes glinting mischievously. "Jordan! When were you going to tell me that you have a sugar daddy?"

I choke on my pumpkin juice. "I'm sorry w-what?!" I splutter.

"That new professor, Lupin? I heard you two had an emotional reunion in class. Hugging, meaningful looks, the whole shebang."

I snort unattractively. "Nah. Remus isn't my sugar daddy," I say, scrunching up my nose in disgust at the thought. "He was a professor at Ilvermorny. He's basically like my dad."

"Not your daddy?" Julian says slowly.

"Not my daddy, my dad," I reply.

"Okay. Also... what the fuck are you doing?" Julian says, pointing at my plate.

I pause mid smiley-face with my ketchup, caught in the act. "...Nothing."

"Great," Allie huffs. "My best friend is four years old."

**

The rest of the day is uneventful, except for Potions with Julian, which is hilarious. It's clear that Snape hates Julian with a passion. Today Julian's potion exploded, and a lacewing fly landed right on Snape's exceptionally large nose. I almost got a detention for laughing, but he let me off reluctantly when he saw my potion, which was brewed to perfection. But not by me- by my partner Kira, who is apparently a Potions expert.

When the day ends, I'm exhausted. I'm also too nervous to do anything except get changed into comfortable clothes for exercise and pace until it's time to go to Quidditch practice. Allie got hungry and bored so she headed to see Julian in the Hufflepuff common room, and promised she'd meet me at the field. Grabbing my broomstick, I jog down the stairs and am greeted by Lee, who is waiting impatiently on one of the large scarlet couches. He stands up when he sees me and starts walking towards the door. "Took you long enough," Lee huffed as